“He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

(Mark 7.37)

In Sunday’s gospel Jesus heals a man who is deaf. His lack of hearing separate the man from his society. He experiences the world as silent. Worse, his deafness impedes his speech and silences his voice in the conversation of the human community. These challenges marginalize the man and leave the seeing of his eyes and the commitments of his heart without words. Yet this man communicates. He has friends. His friends beg Jesus to lay his hand on him.

Jesus opens his ears. The miracle shows us in cameo that God wants wholeness for people. It shows Jesus reaching out to the marginalized. It invites us to identify who is silent in our society. Active listening shows value for others’ words. We can listen others into speech.